


Bikes

by EddieSasspbrak



Series: I'd rearrange the alphabet to put U and I together [2]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Growing Up, M/M, Teenage Losers Club (IT)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22583716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EddieSasspbrak/pseuds/EddieSasspbrak
Summary: Eddie has never had a bike of his own and Richie wants to fix that.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: I'd rearrange the alphabet to put U and I together [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1613245
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Bikes

It was the summer of their fifteenth year. Richie enjoyed nothing more than feeling the hands of his crush on his shoulders as he stood on the back of his bike while they rode through the streets with their friends. It wasn’t always his bike that he rode on though. They took turns having Eddie as a passenger. His mom didn’t allow him to have a bike of his own. It was too dangerous. He might fall off or crash it. What if he forgot to get off and walk it across the street like he was supposed to and was hit by a car? What if the chain broke and he couldn’t stop? What if he got a flat and lost control? Her reasons were endless, and Eddie had learned to stop asking.

As much as Richie loved riding with him, he wanted Eddie to be happy. He knew that there was nothing Eddie wanted more than to have a bike of his own. So, that’s what he would make happen. It wasn’t that hard to do. He gathered the rest of the Losers, minus Eddie, in the clubhouse and told them about his plan. The six of them would get odd jobs around town and save up to buy Eddie the used bike at the pawn shop before summer was over. Of course, they all agreed without much convincing. They all loved Eddie and wanted his happiness almost as much as Richie did.

They took turns so that Eddie wouldn’t get suspicious. One day a week, one of them would go around and look for anyone who was willing to pay for an extra pair of hands. Ben babysat his neighbor’s kids so they could have date night and they liked him so much, he was asked back the following weekend. Mike and Stan mowed countless lawns, Bill set up in the park and offered parents to draw their children for a fee. Beverly took $5 bets on how many lined-up bottles she could break in one shot. Richie took a temporary job unloading boxes at the market two days a week. It took all their savings plus what they’d made over a two-month period to buy the $450 bike.

During that time of working and scrounging together what they could, Richie and Bill taught Eddie how to ride on their bikes. He kind of already knew how to ride before then but was well out of practice as it had been so long. Richie told him that sometimes he should be the one to peddle and let one of them ride on the back.

“We’re tired of hauling your heavy ass around all the time. It’s your turn to chauffeur me.” He’d said, earning a punch in the shoulder.

It was enough to throw him off the trail completely. And so, the day came when they took their earnings and purchased the bike. Bev ran to the convenience store and bought a red bow to stick on the handlebars. Eddie was scheduled to meet them at Richie’s house and the six ran down the streets, bike in tow, giddy and overjoyed. They hid the bike underneath the front stairs and then sat and awaited his arrival. When he finally appeared, he looked upset. His shoulders were hunched, his hands shoved in his pockets and a frown plastered on his face.

“What’s going on, Eds?” Richie asked, pushing up off the steps.

“My mom is freaking out because I said I wanted to get my drivers permit this year. She’s going to make me fall years behind my friends and peers because she’s convinced I’ll crash.” He grumbled.

“W-we’ll drive you around when we can.” Bill said with a soft smile.

“It’s not like any of us are going to have our own cars anyway. We’ll still be riding around on bikes with you.” Bev chimed in, reaching out to grab his hand.

“That’s not the point. I want to hit milestones _with_ _you guys_. I don’t want to get left behind. Again.” Despite his annoyance, he let Bev take his hand and squeeze it in her fingers.

Richie walked around to the side of the stairs, keeping his eyes on Eddie. “I think we’ve got something that might bring a smile back to that cherub face of yours my dear Spaghetti.”

Eddie looked at him with doubtful eyes as he reached beneath the stairs and grabbed hold of the handlebars. The bike rolled out from beneath the stairs and into the sunlight. Eddie’s eyes widened but confusion was the present expression on his face. He looked between the smiling faces of his friends and then back at the bike.

“It’s yours.” Ben spoke up.

“But…how?” Eddie asked. “Where did you get it?”

“The pawn shop. Sorry we couldn’t afford to get a new one.” Mike stood from the stairs and slapped a heavy hand down on Eddie’s shoulder.

“You guys…bought this for me?”

They could see the tears already forming the corners of his eyes. Mike pulled him against his chest and wrapped his arms around him as the tears began to fall. The other Losers rushed to join them, wrapping him up in the middle of a big group hug. Eddie searched his brain for something to say but was coming up blank as the love and astonishment took over. When they got to hot from the summer heat plus body heat, Eddie had managed to compose himself.

“You know my mom is going to take it the second she sees it, right?” He sniffled, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.

“We thought you could h-hide it at one of our places.” Bill said.

“We’ve figured it all out, Eddie. Don’t worry about it. Take it for test ride.” Stan said, gently shoving him toward the bike.

Eddie took the bike by the handles and steered it out to the street, his friends behind him with their bikes. Mounting the bike, Eddie felt a thrill go through him as a grin spread across his face. Pushing off, he began to ride down the street, all the rest of the Losers pulling up beside him. This wasn’t the first time Eddie had ridden a bike, but it was his first time riding a bike that was _his_. It was freedom and excitement and relief all balled into one.

They rode until they reached the quarry, their intended destination for the day. Eddie carefully pushed down the kickstand with his foot, making sure his new (used) bike wouldn’t fall over into the dirt. He cherished every gift his friends had given him over the years, but this one took the first-place spot. In a million years he didn’t think he’d be able to convey to them just how grateful he was for the gift. Having to hide it from his mother and one of their houses was a bummer but if it kept it safe from her, then so be it.

All seven stripped down and dove down into the water below, washing away the sweat that had gathered on their skin from the ride. Eddie was floating on his back, staring up at the clouds in the impossibly blue sky above him, when Stan waded over to him. He splashed some water in his face, causing Eddie to stand quickly, sputtering a bit as he wiped water from his eyes.

“Dammit Stanley.” He said with a smile, sending a small wave in Stan’s direction.

“It was Richie’s idea.” Stand put his arms up to block the water, ignoring Eddie’s retaliation.

“What was?”

“The bike. He saw it in the window of the pawn shop and put the plan together to raise money for it.”

“Why didn’t he tell me? I figured it was a joint idea.”

“Joint effort, Richie’s idea. He wanted you to be happy. Figure it out.”

With that, Stan swam away to rejoin the rest of the group. Eddie found Richie in the chaos that was his friends playing in the water. Beverly had his glasses in her hand, holding them out of his reach as he laughed and tried to get them back. For a while, he’d known how Richie felt about him. He felt the same way but was afraid to pursue it. Two boys in love wasn’t exactly an accepted thing in Derry. Now, as he watched him with the knew knowledge of the bike in his mind, he felt his heart swell.

It would be another year before either worked up the courage to confess to the other and begin their relationship. With many bumps along the way, a few breakups here and there, they eventually moved in together. This led to marriage, which led the adoption of their daughter. On the eve of her sixth birthday, both men sat in their living room wrapping last minute gifts. One of her gifts, sat in the corner of the room with a big bow on the handlebars, was a brand-new bike. Her first bike.

They’d lived in an apartment before and there wasn’t much room for a bike. Since deciding to start the process of adopting a second child, they decided to upgrade to a house in a suburb just outside of the city. Close enough for both Eddie and Richie to get to work easily and for their daughter to still play with friends from her old school. She’d been asking for a bike for her birthday, but both her fathers lead her to believe she wouldn’t receive one. They were excited to see her reaction to it.

When all the gifts were wrapped and piled up on the top of their coffee table, they sat back against the couch with a joined sigh. Eddie curled his legs up under him and leaned heavily against his husband’s shoulder. Both were tired and would eventually have to make the trek up to bed. For now, they were happy to have a moment of silence together. Eddie’s eyes landed on the bike in the corner, hidden in a way that she wouldn’t see it when coming down the stairs in the morning.

“Makes me think of my first bike.” He said, snuggling in closer under Richie’s arm.

“It would have been nice if we could have gotten you a new one instead of that rusty hunk of junk.”

“I loved it. It was perfect.” Eddie turned to rest his chin against Richie’s chest, looking up at him. “I know it was your idea to get me that bike. Stan told me.”

Richie looked down and brough is hand up to gently cup his cheek. “How come you never said anything?”

Eddie shrugged. “I don’t know. That was the moment, you know. When I realized I was in love with you.”

“I should buy you things more often.” Richie grinned.

“Shut up. It wasn’t the bike. It was the sentiment behind it. That fact that you wanted to do something for me and that you thought of me when you saw it in the window. Made me feel special.”

Richie kissed him then. They’d shared hundreds of thousand kisses over the years, but each one still gave both men butterflies. In the morning, when their daughter woke and found her presents, she would see the bike and squeal happily. They’d spend the rest of the afternoon teaching her to ride. When she falls and scrapes her knee, Eddie is ready with the antibacterial and the bandages. Later, when she suggests family rides, Eddie and Richie buy themselves bikes. Nicer bikes than the ones they had as kids and just as special, because they bought them together.

**Author's Note:**

> So in the 2017 movie when Eddie is walking home and first encounters Pennywise, I've always thought "where is his bike"? Because he had it earlier but now he's walking. And so that spiraled into the idea that he's not allowed to have one and has to keep it hidden at one of his friend's houses, which then spiraled into, how did he get the bike? And this was born.  
> Also on tumblr at EddieSasspbrak


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